ACE

S tanding at my front door, one hand waving above my head and my cheeks aching from the dumb grin that I couldn’t wipe off. She returned the wave as she stepped into the car. But honestly, not as enthusiastically as I’d hoped. Our date had started off well, but now that she was leaving, I wasn’t as sure as I had been earlier. When she had made moves to call a taxi, I’d insisted that my driver Ben take her home. But now, watching as he drove her away, I doubted that decision too.

I hadn’t even made a move to kiss her. Not for lack of wanting to, though. Harley was the kind of beautiful that could stop traffic. Her long blonde hair with pink streaks gave her a certain edge, but her beauty could have easily morphed into upscale luxury or sporty casual. This was a girl who could pull off any look.

I just needed to get a handle on what this was between us. I knew what I wanted, but understanding what she really wanted out of this was a lot more complicated. Maybe I needed some backup. Someone to bounce all these thoughts off of. Dropping on to the couch, I grabbed the cordless phone from its cradle and dialed Jax’s number.

“Hey buddy!” I began as soon as he answered.

“Ace… whatcha up to?” Jax’s slightly slurred voice floated across the phone line.

“You heading to the bottom of a bottle, man?” I asked.

“Fucking hell man… she’s ignoring me, not answering my calls. I gotta go over there and…”

“Who?” I asked. “Aria?”

“Yeah man… I gotta go, I just gotta…”

Jax didn’t sound good. If I was being honest, he sounded drunk. Not out of the ordinary for sure, but it was happening more and more and I knew it was becoming a serious issue for him. Probably shouldn’t judge though, I knew my habits weren’t much better.

“Listen man, I know you’re heading out, but I gotta run something by you.”

Jax cleared his throat. “Yeah, man, what’s going on?”

Despite his intoxication, Jax still attempted to support me. Or at least I thought he did.

“Okay, so that girl? Harley? From the club?” I started.

“Of course!” he cackled. “My boy’s got it bad for the stripper.” Jax laughed.

“Fuck you, Jax.” I muttered under my breath. “Never mind.” It was pointless, and I knew it. I was always there for Jax and his girl problems, but apparently, he was still on the ‘make fun of Ace train’. It was just like the guys had done back when I was looking for Harley at the club and I didn’t have it in me to listen to more of that shit.

“Look Jax, I gotta run. Something’s come up. Talk soon though.”

Jax was already gone. The dial tone was already ringing in my ear, seconds after my last word.

Fuck!

I was getting to the end of my rope with my best friend. Just when I thought he was back to himself, he turned into a selfish asshole again. This behaviour had gone on long enough and things needed to change soon. He’d been slacking on the band, too. No new songs in the works, drugs and drinking all day and night, and now his new obsession with Aria. Basically, everything and anything was pulling his focus away from the band. Something was going to have to happen soon. Maybe it was time to chat with the guys about it. Time to stop wondering if he really had a problem and start actually finding out what we could do about it. I picked up the receiver one more time and dialed Gage’s number.

It rang a few times, but just as I was about to hang up, Gage’s gravelly voice came through the speaker.

“Hey there, my man!”

I smiled at his exuberance. “You sound happy.” I remarked.

“And why wouldn’t I be?” Gage continued, making his extra wide smile clearly heard by my ears. “Always happy to hear your voice, man.”

“Thanks… look I’m calling cause I’m feeling all fucked up about this date I had with Harley.” I began.

“No shit!” Gage said. “She actually agreed to go out with you?” and then he laughed. Deep belly roll laughs from deep in his gut.

“Ah, come on, man!” I cried out. “Not you too!” I mumbled under my breath.

Couldn’t at least one of my guys be supportive?

“I’m sorry dude, really I am.” Gage quickly changed gears. “You know I’m here for you. What’s going on?”

“Only if you take it seriously, Gage.” I cautioned.

“I will.” He promised.

I took a deep breath and began. “So I took her out tonight, well actually I brought her to my place and cooked a few things, ordered others. Anyway, it seemed to go well, but right after dinner… like, it was super awkward. I wanted her to feel respected and to know that my interest in her was serious, so…

“So what, man?” Gage asked tentatively. “What did you do?”

“Well… it’s more like what I didn’t do.” I answered.

The frustration in Gage’s voice was loud and clear now. “Okay… you’re gonna have to spit it out, Ace.”

I paused.

“I didn’t kiss her.”

Silence.

“Okay… and?” Gage asked.

“Jesus man! I raised my voice. “Well, she fucking took off! So now, I’m left wondering if I made the right choice or not.”

A long sigh from Gage whistled in my ear.

“Ace… I gotta speak freely here. You okay with that?” he asked.

“Yes, of course, that’s literally why I’m calling you!” I was feeling exasperated.

“I think you may have dodged a bullet, to be honest. Fucking around and having fun is totally cool. We all do it but Ace… man, things are like different with you. You fall hard and fast, bro. Maybe this is a good thing, you not jumping in too fast. Maybe it will slow things down and give you the opportunity to see things a little clearer.”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked, slowly realizing that maybe Gage was on the same train as Jax.

“Don’t come after me, man. I’m not the one with issues here. If you need to caution anyone, it’s Jax.” I warned.

Gage agreed. “Yeah, I know he’s got issues and we definitely need to discuss those too, but you Ace… you fall for every single woman you meet. Like no joke, this always happens and you end up getting taken for a ride every time. You’ll be the reason we all have to tour in our retirement just so you don’t go bankrupt from your last girlfriend.” He chuckled.

“For fuck’s sake!” I barked into the receiver. “Do any of you even give a shit about me and my feelings? I’m so sick of hearing how I end up with the wrong women all the time.”

“Then stop trying to find the love of your life in a strip joint!” Gage yelled back.

After hanging up with Gage, I made my way to my bedroom and flopped on my back on the bed, my thoughts tossing back and forth in my head. I really liked Harley, but I wasn’t so sure that our evening together had been a good one. Maybe I was too much in my head, maybe everyone else’s ideas were messing with my game. I needed to figure this out on my own. I knew Harley wasn’t like the others. She was different and in a good way. I just needed the others to see what I saw in her.

It occurred to me that perhaps keeping my feelings about Harley a secret for the time being was a better choice. No one needed to know how I felt and if I’d seen her. Yes… this was the right plan. Just me and Harley. I needed to know if she really was interested or if this was just a fan girl thing. I’d only understand it by taking her out on a second date.

I made my way to the bathroom, pulling my shirt over my head as I walked. Stepping out of my jeans, I let them drop to the floor as well, only the clinking of my belt on the tile floor echoing across the room.

My mind was still on Harley and my body took notice. As soon as the air touched my bare skin, I was hard as a rock. Turning on the water, I didn’t have to wait long for it to hit the perfect temperature. Stepping under the warm stream, I let out a sigh of contentment and let my head drop back for a moment. My hand instinctively slid down my abdomen and reached down for my cock. Swollen to its maximum, just the slight touch of my hand on the sensitive shaft instantly made me gasp. Starting slowly, then progressing to match my intensifying desire, I worked myself up and down as visions of Harley swarmed in my head.

She would be mine soon enough. I knew it in my soul.